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Moving carefully away from the cliff, Legolas turned and ran back to
where he had left the rest of the patrol. He slid down the slope,
dropping silently at the edge of the clearing, startling Taniquel so
much that she had an arrow aimed at his head before she recognised him,
and lowered her bow with an exasperated sigh. "Valar, Legolas! I nearly
shot you then! Give some warning next time."
"Sorry, Tani," he said breathlessly. "There are orcs heading our way.
And goblins. We need to get out of the way."
In seconds there was no sign anyone had been in the clearing. The elves
faded into the trees, well camouflaged, and waited for the orcs to
appear. The first foot soldiers passed by and Legolas started to
breathe a sigh of relief, when the next wave approached. These were
larger and more evil looking than the goblins he had encountered
before, and they seemed to sniff as they went, snuffling and snorting
as they passed by. Before long one halted, peering into the undergrowth.
It paused, sniffing suspiciously, squinting at the trees. "I can
smell something, Snurluk! Something 'orrible. Elf, I think!"
Behind him, Legolas could hear the patrol backing away from the path,
silently, leading the horses deeper into the trees. He almost laughed
as he saw Elthan's indignant expression, and would have done, had the
situation not been so serious.
"All right, you lot! Spread out! Find it!" commanded the orc captain.
The elf patrol retreated further into the forest. Even the horses moved
silently through the bushes, but as the orcs spread out, several headed
in their direction. They retreated again, away from the orcs, but again
the orcs turned towards them. Legolas cursed silently. It was proving
remarkably difficult to elude the orcs, and all the time they were
moving away from the path they wanted to take. As they retreated
further and further, the orcs kept turning in their direction. The
creatures were calling to each other, hacking at the undergrowth, and
as they continued to spread out the elves were in danger of being
surrounded.
Finally Legolas stopped. "This is no good. We are not getting
anywhere," he whispered. "I have to stop them."
"I think they are not tracking us," breathed Alfiel. "I think it is
just bad luck. But surely they will blunder into us soon."
Legolas nodded. "We need to head them off. I can lead them away from
our position, take as many as I can persuade to follow me. You can deal
with the ones left."
Both Alfiel and Math’rin disputed the plan. "No, Legolas, that
would be far too dangerous!” Alfiel hissed. “You know we
should not engage them. Besides, I do not think we should split up.
Stay together and keep low."
"But they could stumble on us any minute. Then we would have no choice
but to fight all of them.
There are far too many, especially with Eléntia away. I can lead
them off, lose them in the forest. We can regroup later.” Legolas
paused, then added, “Alfiel, if I am not back in four hours,
carry on to Dol Guldur with the others. I – I will try to meet you
there."
Without pausing for further argument, or to be told he was taking a
foolish risk, Legolas leapt onto Pavisel and silently urged him away.
It was dangerous, he knew that. It was also the best plan he could
think of - he could not risk the group being caught, which seemed
certain if the orcs continued to follow them as they had. If he
succeeded in drawing off the main group, it would give the others a
much better chance to reach Dol Guldur, no matter what happened. He
turned, gave a brief wave, and disappeared into the forest.
Alfiel gazed after his friend. The logic was sound, and realistically
he knew it was the best plan, but it was fraught with danger -
especially for Legolas. He just hoped nothing would go wrong.
"There are over a hundred of them! What on earth does he think he
is doing? How is he going to distract their attention from us without
them suspecting something?" Math'rin wanted to know.
Alfiel shook his head in mock sorrow. Math’rin may have been a
skilled and experienced warrior, but he was not a strategist. "Orcs are
not too bright, Math'rin. Listen and learn. Be ready. I do not know how
many will be left for us to deal with."
They waited tensely to see what would happen. The orcs had slowed, and
seemed to be listening. Alfiel prayed they had not heard the whispered
debate, or suspected anything. While it was true that orcs were not
very intelligent, some of this group seemed brighter than most.
After what seemed like an eternity, shouts and loud neighs broke out,
some distance to the west, along with the sound of snapping branches
and something heavy crashing through the undergrowth. It sounded like
an entire cavalry, not just one elf and a horse.
With cries of glee, the orcs tuned towards the racket. "I told you I
smelled elf! Come on, you maggots! They're over that way - don't let
'em get away. And don't kill 'em all - I want one to play with!" The
two leaders rallied their troops and headed off in pursuit.
The few orcs who remained looked at each other uncertainly. "I ain't
going after them! Sounds like there's an 'ole army out there! We'll
stop 'ere for a bit, and 'ave a rest" said a small orc with straggly
black hair and a chipped tooth.
"Yeah. Be safer. I ain't chasing no elf army - let Snurluk's lot do
that!"
With an appreciative grin at the tactic, Alfiel crept forward so he
could see how many were left behind. There were only about twenty left,
now sitting or sprawling on the grass, which would pose no problem. He
turned to Math'rin. "You see? It is simple.” He moved into
position. At his signal they fired on the orcs. Four fell before the
others even realised they were under attack. They reacted swiftly, but
by the time they drew their own weapons there were only six left. One,
braver than most, raced towards Alfiel with a drawn sword, but he never
even got close. Soon all had fallen to the elves' arrows.
They dragged the orc bodies into the undergrowth, out of sight, then
paused to listen for any sounds of pursuit. The crashing, shouts, and
wild neighing, and the cries of the pursuing orcs could still be heard,
but it was growing fainter. “It sounds like he is having fun," said
Math'rin. "But it seems a dangerous game he is playing. There must be
almost a hundred after him. I hope he will be all right."
Elthan laughed. "I would have no worries. And that beast of his is well
trained. It sounds like Pavisel is using his hooves well."
The ruse had worked, even better than they had hoped. The orcs had been
lured far away from their position. Eventually the sounds of pursuit
faded even more, and the elven patrol began to relax a little. It
was ill-timed. Suddenly there was a different sound, a loud
scream of fear and pain from a horse. It could only be Pavisel.
The shouts and crashing stopped abruptly, and the cries of the orcs
turned jubilant, exultant. Alfiel looked at the rest of the patrol in
horror. Had Legolas been caught?
They moved south of where they had killed the orcs, then quickly
debated their best course of action. "I know what he said, but this is
no good, I cannot leave him" said Alfiel. "Taniquel, stay under cover
with the others. I will go to see what has happened. I have no wish to
separate again, but I do not know what else to do. I must find out!"
Reluctantly, Taniquel nodded. "All right. This is madness, Alfiel, but
I know why you have to do it. Take care."
Alfiel turned and disappeared into the forest with Fanuidhol. She
sighed. "I hope they both know what they are doing. Because I do not
want to return without them and have to face the King!"
They were near an overhanging ledge. She moved the horses to the
shelter of the cliff, then pulled branches across. There was a clump of
gnatweed growing nearby, and the pungent smell would mask the scent of
the horses. From only a few paces away they were completely concealed,
even if orcs passed right in front of them. Sending Math'rin to keep
watch, she and Elthan sat down wearily. It had been a long and eventful
journey. After nearly an hour Math'rin called a low warning. "An orc
patrol is approaching. About ten of them. They will pass your position,
but do not seem to be looking for anything. Just keep still!"
A few minutes later the patrol came into sight. They walked noisily,
talking in their guttural voices, making no attempt to conceal their
presence. This close to Dol Guldur they did not fear anything. They had
come from the north, so were presumably not the ones that had gone
after Legolas. Word of the chase and capture, however, had reached
them. By listening carefully to the harsh speech, Taniquel could make
out what they were talking about.
"Get a move on, Moghar!” the leader snarled. “I want to get
back soon as possible, to see the fun. What is it they've got, anyway?"
Another orc shrugged, giving a low, sneering laugh. "Dunno. Some elf, I
think. Morluk said they'd had to shut it up, it was fighting so hard.
The Masters want to question it, anyway - and I want to watch, too!
Move your arse, Moghar!"
As the orc patrol continued their way south to Dol Guldur, they were
speculating on what might be in store for the captive. Before they
finally went out of earshot, she could hear them laying wagers on how
long the prisoner would last before succumbing to the 'Masters'
questioning. Taniquel looked at Elthan. There was a stark fear in his
eyes. "They have caught him. Now what are we going to do?!"
Taniquel shook her head numbly. "I do not know. We should wait for
Alfiel, he might know more. Math'rin! Did you hear?"
Math'rin appeared behind them, descending from the tree he had been
in. "I heard. Alfiel left you in charge, what are you going to
do?"
She swallowed, her mouth dry. The fate of any elf caught by orcs did
not bear thinking about, and Legolas was a friend, as well as army
commander. That was bad enough. But most of all, she did not want to be
the one to tell the King that his son had been captured by the orcs of
Dol Guldur.
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